Brian Musselwhite

Bio

Brian Musselwhite has recently retired as Assistant Curator of the ROM's European department, but he still comes into the museum occasionally. He was primarily responsible for British and European glass and ceramics, his other responsibilities included research, acquiring and cataloguing artifacts, and identifying antiques and other heirlooms belonging to members of the public. His areas of specialization include: 19th and 20th century glass, portrait miniatures, English ceramics and silver, and 2Oth century design.

Mr. Musselwhite has lectured and published widely on various decorative arts topics. He is a professor at the Ontario College of Art and Design and teaches a course on the history of glass, ceramics and metals, ancient to present. He also teaches evening courses on the English decorative arts for the School of Continuing Studies at the University of Toronto. He has organized and produced a number of exhibitions at the ROM including Glass Worlds: Paperweights from the ROM’s Collection, which closed on May 4, 2008. He is co-author of High Style: Masterworks from the Bernard and Sylvia Ostry Collection in the Royal Ontario Museum.

Among his many projects Brian Musselwhite played an active role in the ROM's Annual Decorative Arts Symposium. The last Symposium, which took place April 10 to 12, 2008 entitled Silver and Gold: Treasures, Fakes and Forgeries was presented with the generous assistance of The Goldsmiths' Company of London, England.